The Snuggly Benbow Inn
by thelionkingsguard
Summary: Eugene Fitzherbert is an orphan on Montressor, stealing from guests at the Benbow Inn to provide for the other orphans. Sarah Hawkins wants to put a stop to it, so she offers him a job. A backstory to Eugene/Flynn inspired by events in the life of Jim Hawkins. More characters from both movies will form a part of the story.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi everyone! It has been a very long time since I last wrote fanfiction. I was very discouraged by comments on my previous fic (although they were perfectly valid), but I believe I finally figured it out. My first fic worked because I completely understood Rapunzel's character. My second didn't work, because I didn't understand Eugene's character. So this is me challenging myself, digging into Eugene's background. He has often been compared to Aladdin, but trying to figure him out I found many similarities with Jim Hawkins as well. This is the result. Hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to any of the characters or stories in either **_**Treasure Planet**_** or **_**Tangled**_**. I write for my own entertainment and that of my readers.**

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This was it. The moment of truth. The couple of canine humanoids had finished their lunch and were sorting out various coins to pay the bill. They were precise about it, they probably wouldn't leave the inn keeper any tip. This either meant they were too poor to spare a tip, or too rich to care about the troubles of those who were not as fortunate. Definitely passing through though. They had arrived on a cruise ship docked at the end of the harbor and the old Benbow inn was filled with guests from the same group. It was quite the varied collection, at least coming from as far as the Magellanic Cloud. Eugene saw species he had only heard about before, and his imagination had not done them justice. Close to his targets was a group of figures that could only be described as humanoid octopuses, each with only one eye. They seemed to form the most obnoxious group of clients, but with those tentacles Eugene knew he would be snatched if he tried anything. Not an option. He was getting too old to successfully pull off the puppy dog-look that had got him out of tricky situations before.

No, this couple was his best option. Canine people usually were very trusting, not suspecting anyone of mischief. He only hoped they were not poor. Then again, if they could afford both a cruise and a pub meal, they couldn't be too bad off. It didn't matter either way really. He had to make sure he got something he could trade with, because he needed to get some food for the kids. They hadn't had a proper meal in a few days, only bits and pieces. And they looked to him to bring in the food. He didn't know why. It wasn't like he was the oldest or even the strongest kid in the orphanage. Maybe it was his background. Most of the other kids knew something about their parents. Eugene had nothing. One day he was just left at the doorstep, swaddled in a blanket, only his face peeping out. It had been a specially cold night and apparently he had been bawling his head off. He didn't remember any of this of course, but his story had become something of an urban legend around the orphanage. When new kids came in, it usually didn't even take them a whole day to hear about it. Which is when the questions started.

He hated the questions. It wasn't like _he_ knew anything. Not anything more than the others. Only his name. That was all that had been attached to that crying bundle: a paper that read _Eugene Fitzherbert_ in elegant calligraphy. Just his name. Nothing more. No explanation why he was left there, where he came from. It was the law that an orphanage could not turn away children without parents, but usually the remaining family gave some money for their support. Eugene was not aware of any remaining family, if they were even out there. For all he knew he was the last in a long line of Fitzherberts. That name was all he had, and he soon figured out that it was not a local name. It might even be a fake name, ensuring that he could never track down his parents, alive or dead. Because nothing else had been left with him, other than his blanket and the rag that was his diaper, he was the only kid in the orphanage who did not know whether his parents still lived. They might.

Maybe that was why the others looked up to him. He could have a living past, he could have a future. He was a mystery and a legend. Maybe it was his name; it was a bit pompous. A mouthful. It was an impressive name and maybe the others projected an impressive personality on him. But he wasn't impressive. He was quick. He was agile. Had to be, in order to escape from the older boys. They didn't take too well to a legend stealing their thunder. And he never shared the food with them. They could find their own food. The younger ones couldn't, and the orphanage couldn't provide it. All the orphanage really provided was a bed, maybe with a blanket if you were lucky. Always with lice though. It wasn't that the staff didn't care, most of them did. It was just that there was no money. The staff was voluntary and sometimes they brought food with them, but you couldn't count on that. Eugene lived in an "eat or be eaten"-world, and he knew it.

Today he was going to eat. Which meant he had to pay attention. His targets were getting up, waving goodbye to the inn keeper (he knew her name was Sarah, but he preferred thinking of her as 'the inn keeper') and walking towards the door. Eugene had seen them hang their jackets on the coat stand, and he swiftly picked them out. The couple noticed and started moving a bit faster. He anticipated and held out the coat for the woman. They immediately relaxed, believing he wasn't planning on running away with their jackets. They were right. The woman murmured a modest "thank you" and shrugged into her coat, so obstructing the view of her partner. It was the moment he had been waiting for and Eugene didn't waste it: he quickly slipped his hands into both pockets, pretending to pat the folds out. Nobody noticed anything. Now the man had his coat on as well and they were both walking away, not even sparing the solemn boy a backward glance.

As soon as the door closed behind them Eugene ran through the kitchen (which earned him a few shouts), out the back door and used a drainpipe to climb up the outside. Once he got to the roof he stayed low so as not to lose his balance. Swiftly he moved back to the front of the inn. Only then did he check to see what he had managed to stuff into his deep pockets: a few loose coins, a small beat-up oval locket, and a lipstick. No wallet, maybe that was handled by the man. The locket was old but shiny, it was probably touched a lot. There was no ring for a chain, otherwise it might have been around the woman's neck. When Eugene opened it, two faces were looking up at him, a man and a woman, both canine humanoids. The woman's parents? If he took the photos out he could trade the locket quite easily. Any form of currency was always helpful, and Eugene was sure he could find someone who needed a new lipstick. Overall not the worst haul, but it wouldn't provide a full meal either.

Placing the items back in his trouser pockets, he prepared himself for a wait. He couldn't leave until the cruise ship had departed, he needed to be sure that he was safe. A good thing too, because he already noticed the couple coming back, furiously patting their pockets and turning the woman's jacket inside out. Once they went inside he couldn't hear what happened, but there was definitely an argument going on. This is why he had to think of Sarah as the inn keeper, because in the end it was always her who had to put up with the angry clients. Luckily most of the other clients were from the same ship, so the whole group would probably leave together.

Anyway, there were never any locals in the Benbow inn, there were never any returning customers. Montressor was a small planet and had no big space harbor on the planet itself. It was a dreary place, both the planet and the Benbow harbor. The latter was situated on the outskirts of a city. He had tried stealing in the city center before, but there were just too many people there. Either he was spotted by someone in the crowd, or the crowd prevented him from getting away quickly enough. He figured that the inn – the only building in the harbor – was perfect. Seeing as the clientele was ever-changing, no one ever knew who to look for when something went missing. If the harbor didn't bring in any trade, it was made up for by the amount of shady figures that landed here. If you wanted to interact with a more savory sort, you had to go to the 'moon,' the intergalactic Montressor Spaceport. You could see it every night, as it revolved around Montressor in an exact 24-hour loop. Sitting on the roof of the inn Eugene could already see it, almost blinding out the stars with the brightness and multitude of its lights. Once the ship had departed he would have to be quick about getting some food.

* * *

The kids looked at him hopefully as he entered the dormitory. The orphanage was an old building, with many rooms of varying size, divided over four floors. The top two floors had been added later, one at a time. There was really no relation in the location of the rooms of the floor, the whole place was almost like a labyrinth. There were stairs and corners and crannies and a few cracked windows. Every dormitory held as many bunk beds as it could fit. The building was co-ed of course (there was only one orphanage in the city, and they could hardly sent kids away) but the dormitories were not. Or at least, they were not during quiet hours. There were a few common rooms, but they were small and there was very little furniture. Any money coming in was usually spend on beds and bed linen, as Eugene believed it should be. He knew the orphanage was run as well as possible, but that did not mean he liked staying there. He just really didn't have anywhere else to go.

Whenever he came back from a day out – stealing or trading – he would first try to find the youngest kids. They usually huddled together in one of the dormitories. He had tried to make his loot go as far as possible. When he walked in the door all these faces were looking at him hopefully, but ready for disappointment as well. He hated that look. Not necessarily because of the responsibility they unwittingly burdened him with (although that was a part of it), but mainly because he believed that they shouldn't have that look. They were kids! They were supposed to have adults take care of them, regular meals, a warm bed. And he was still a kid too. He knew that. And he hated that. _He_ should have someone taking care of him. Whenever he came back from a job, he was always struck with this loathing for his parents. Whereas most of the other kids didn't have any family left, Eugene might have. There might be someone out there who was supposed to take care of him and instead had simply chosen not to. But that would not do. He had to be cheery for the others, because all of them lived decidedly un-cheery lives. So he gave them his best grin and started handing out the bread and apples.

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**Hope you enjoyed! Please rate and review, even if you didn't like it. I'm taking a big leap here and would appreciate any and all feedback!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Just to be clear, this chapter picks up right after the previous one ended. Please review, all feedback (about characters, plot, style, anything) is welcome!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to either **_**Treasure Planet**_** or **_**Tangled**_** or any of the characters. I write purely for my own entertainment and that of my readers.**

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The chattering had dimmed away and all of the children were focused on him. By now they had learned not to pounce on him as soon as he pulled out the food. They knew that he would be as fair as possible in the distribution. Eugene had become a bit of a leader to them, which was hardly surprising. He was older than any of them, most of them were not even eight yet. He brought food in. He was their hero. Problem was, he didn't see himself as a hero. He knew he was a thief, and a common one at that. He was an orphan, poorly clothed, people even avoided him in the streets believing he might by a gypsy beggar. Those people didn't know him obviously. As soon as Eugene had been old enough to leave the orphanage during the day, he had sworn to himself that he would never beg. He didn't want to be dependent on anyone. He had been dependent on his parents and they had just left him behind. He promised that would never happen again. This conviction helped him perfect the art of stealing. He wasn't sure whether that was something to be proud of, but at least it brought food in. So it was definitely worth it.

He sat down on the wooden floor of the dormitory and crossed his legs, with all the kids eyeing him from the lower bunks of the surrounding beds. The mixed look of hope and despair had left their eyes, now they just looked hungry. Some of them looked almost predatory. Eugene wasn't one to keep them in suspense, so he started breaking up the first bread. He had learnt that it was paramount to keep their minds occupied at this point, because else someone would always believe he was being slighted. Sometimes that was true, more often it wasn't. Either way, he didn't want a row. When no one started talking, he turned to Susie, because he knew that she understood. She might only be six years old, and small for her age at that, but she was also very much aware of the atmosphere in a room or among a group of people. He almost thought of her as an accomplice in this regard, helping him carry out his job. "Hey Susie…"

"Yeah?" She might know what was expected of her, but she also knew she shouldn't be too keen. The two of them would never form a true partnership. If the others believed they were close in any way, they would harass her to get them more food or otherwise call her a traitor. Kids can exaggerate and kids can be cruel, and those qualities should never be underestimated. He was afraid what might happen to her when he was not present, so he understood why she had to keep up an antagonistic front.

"Anything interesting happen today?" While talking he kept on breaking the bread and handing out the chunks.

"What, with you gone? That's always when the interesting things happen." She was clever, this one. He wasn't sure whether she had done it on purpose or not, but this sentence already indicated that at least she didn't think of Eugene as anything special. She was subtly telling the entire group that Eugene was not anything interesting and so tried to lower his pedestal a tiny bit. It was only healthy for all of them. Eugene didn't necessarily enjoy having all those kids look up to him. They almost revered him, especially the youngest ones. And anyone older than him hated him for the loyalty those children awarded him. It was impossible to make friends.

"Yeah? Like what?" All the youngest kids had received their share now, so Eugene started throwing apples very precisely to some of the kids on other bunks. They knew better than to intercept, because he would immediately leave and go to the next dormitory. That was the only way they would learn. Hunger had its claws in these kids, and he hated using hunger as leverage, but he had to make sure there wouldn't be any fights.

"Well, a grown up visited today." He lowered his arm a bit. An adult visiting? That did not happen often. He threw the apple. "Yeah, we hadn't expected that either. None of the Patrollers had mentioned there would be a visitor today." This was strange. A visiting adult meant that someone was interested in adopting an orphan. So the Patrollers – that is, the staff, but all they really did was patrol the hallways – would usually want everyone to look presentable. But that had not been the case. Very strange. Now he wished that he had not gone out today. A prospective parent was rare, but this had never happened before. He threw another apple.

"What did they want then?"

"We don't know. First he went to speak to the Boss, and then he questioned some of the Patrollers. After that he just left." Eugene was ready to ask her if anyone had heard anything, but she was already a step ahead. Shaking her head, she continued: "He was mainly on the third and fourth floors." He threw a third apple. Huh. The floors were occupied based on age. Youngest ones at the bottom, oldest at the top. Eugene had a bunk on the third floor. Maybe one of the guys from his dormitory knew something. Eugene threw one more apple. "A weird fellow though." He shot her an inquisitive glance. "Yeah, like, he wasn't from around here. Colorful clothes, bit of a tan. And scary too." This was followed by a few kinds making confirming sounds. Weird indeed. Throwing his last apple, Eugene rose a bit stiffly.

"That's it for today everyone. I have three more dormitories to visit and you already kept me long enough." He went out the door, followed by a chorus of mildly disappointed "Aaaaawwws." He would not visit three more dormitories. He went straight for his own.

* * *

"What do you mean, 'you're wrong'? Don't tell me I'm wrong! The other boys said they heard it clear as day: _Fitzherbert_!"

"Well, then maybe you're not wrong and they just misheard. I promise you that man did not come here for you. Calm down Eugene."

"Don't… _tell me_… to calm down. Fitzherbert is not a name you hear anywhere! How could they have misheard? Huh? Tell me that!"

"Jeez Eugene! Don't you think that if someone came here for you, we wouldn't tell him to wait or come back later or anything?"

"Well, did you? Tell him to come back later?"

"Of course not! Because _he wasn't looking for you_. I'm not supposed to share this information with you, but I don't see how you're going to let this go otherwise. Just, let me explain, okay?"

"Humph."

"Okay. Right. Here goes. That man's name was Fitz_william_. Okay? William, not Herbert! His girlfriend or wife or whatever ran off with another man, but she bore a child soon after. Too soon to have the other one be the father. He wouldn't raise the child, so he made her give it up. The real father, Mr. _Fitzwilliam_, only learnt about this when the woman died and the other man told him he had a kid. The man said he didn't remember the name of the planet where they left the kid, only that it had something to do with treasure. So this man, Mr. Fitzwilliam, is trying to find his kid. Who, incidentally, is a _girl_. We told him he was at the wrong place. So he left. That is _it_. No conspiracy, nothing. Simply a man with a similar name in the wrong place."

Could that really just be it? The story was too strange for words, it couldn't've been made up on the spot right? Right? Still, something nagged at Eugene. The boys had been so certain, and the kids on the fourth floor were telling a similar tale. Then again, Eugene's first name had not been mentioned by anyone involved. Could it be true? Maybe. Maybe not. But there was no way of finding out anymore. Everyone agreed that the man had left the city immediately after. Whatever was going on, Eugene wouldn't be able find out anymore. All he could do was agree. So he did.

"_Fine_." He almost spit out the word. If only he had been in today. Just for a second, he had believed that someone was looking for him. For _him_. Not just anybody who wanted to adopt a random kid, but someone who knew his name. Someone who knew specifically of a kid with Fitzherbert for his last name. And now that someone was gone and Eugene was left with nothing again. Nothing was usual for him of course, but he had glimpsed something. He had believed in a future. And when that was snatched away, returning to nothing could not have been more difficult.

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**I had trouble with the point of view during this one, especially during the dialogue. I kept switching between first- and third-person perspective. Should I be consistent in the POV? Or should I go with what flows best while writing? Would that be confusing? Please review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to either **_**Treasure Planet**_** or **_**Tangled**_** or any of the characters. I write purely for my own entertainment and that of my readers.**

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Over the past few days, most kids had learned to avoid him. Even some of the older kids had become wary of crossing Eugene's path. Saying that he was in a foul mood would be an understatement. He had not left the orphanage for four straight days and the effects were becoming clearer by the day. Kids were hoarding the food they had left, unwilling to share with anyone else. The entire place was buzzing with negative tension. It would not be long before a fight broke out over one of those hoards and then all hell would break loose. Something had to be done. Seeing as no one else was going to do it, Susie took it on herself to find Eugene. It didn't take long. Like the previous days, he was sprawled across what a charitable person might call a sofa, in the common room closest to the entrance. She didn't really know what to do next, so she just kept standing in the door for a while.

"Go away." That was Eugene of course. There was no one else in the room.

"No, I won't." She knew this conversation was not going to be pretty. It would probably be like sucking the venom out of a wound, but Eugene had to be saved from himself. This would not do at all. "I won't leave until you've gone out again."

"Fine. Then stay. I don't care." She couldn't really see him from where she was standing. The sofa's back was parallel with the door, so Susie walked in and picked out a dilapidated lounge chair facing the couch. Eugene had his arms crossed behind his head and his feet were dangling off the other side of the sofa. "Gaah, Susie. Leave me alone!"

"I won't! I will not leave you alone until you go out and bring us back some food!"

"You know, did you ever think that maybe you are not the center of my universe and that I might have some personal issues I need to deal with?"

"Eugene, everyone is very much aware you have personal issues to deal with. But this is not the way to do it. The children are doing as much as they possibly can, but they don't know how to steal food! They don't even know how to beg properly! Everyone is going hungry and we _need_ you." There was no point in playing games. This was an all-or-nothing situation and Susie was putting all her cards on the table. It didn't look like it was enough. She was right.

Eugene muffled a half-hearted "Well, tough love," and turned over on his side, so that he wasn't looking at Susie anymore.

"Eugene, you are being so selfish!"

"I'M being selfish? ME?" He had jumped up and was glaring at Susie now. "I have been in this common room ever since I learned about _Fitzwilliam_, so that this time I won't screw up again and I'll be here, but you want me to give up my one chance at a way out FOR SOME FOOD?" It was clear Eugene had not bought the story the Patroller had fed him. That was not an excuse though.

"YES EUGENE! Because let's face it: that man is not coming back. He left as soon as he left this orphanage and you know it. You _know_ it and still you won't pull yourself out of this lethargy! But the kids _need_ you Eugene, and you won't be able to keep this up. You need food as well and you _know_ how to get it! So yes, you _are_ being selfish. You need to give up this poison dream of living a happy life with a happy family in a happy home where no hunger will ever exist, because it's _not _going to happen. Snap out of it already!" All throughout her tirade, it had seemed as if the air was blowing out of him and he sank down on the sofa. His head was hanging down, hair falling so that his face was almost entire obscured. He was deflated and Susie hated that it was because of what she had shouted, but she also knew it had been necessary. "Come on Eugene. You know I wish it could be different. But we are orphans. You, me, all of us. And orphans fall under the category of 'unwanted' in this world. We are a burden on society. We are a burden on everyone who comes in contact with us. We only have each other. We are each other's family. And family helps each other. We need you back Eugene."

"Okay." Susie almost didn't catch it, but she got up and walked out the room. In the door she stopped and looked back. His shoulders were shaking, so she closed the door behind her.

* * *

Susie had been right of course, but that didn't make going back any easier. He just couldn't get his mind to focus and that would not do if I he was supposed to come back with something to eat. Maybe it would help to just go through the movements, the routine. Take up the position next to the coat stand. Scout out the alertness of the staff. Choose a target. Get the job done. Who knows, it might work. So that's what he did. The corner for the coat stand was nice and secluded, it offered a limited view of the dining room through a large arch from where guests were guided to their seats. From that corner it was not possible to see all the diners, but that wasn't usually necessary. If there was no appropriate target, Eugene could just wait until the pool had shuffled a bit: people left, new people came in, and there was always someone. Just like now. Like usual it was someone he had never seen here before. She was an adult human, just finishing her meal. She looked wealthy enough: she wore earrings and a bracelet around her wrist. Being a human, she might be less likely to be suspicious of her own species, but that might just as easily not be the case. You just never knew, which meant Eugene had to go with his gut a lot of the time. But his gut had also said that the visitor at the orphanage had been for him. So why hadn't the Patroller managed to get the guy to come back? Wherever he threw his thoughts, all he found was more riddles. Riddles wouldn't do right at this moment though, it seemed he had blanked out for a moment and the lady was almost at the coat stand already. He quickly grabbed her jacket. She looked strangely at him but accepted the situation, holding out her arms for Eugene to slide the jacket on. He was feeling rushed though, because he had only snapped out of his thoughts a few seconds ago. He didn't have control yet. He knows the motions and turns on the automatic drive, putting his hands in the deep pockets of the coat. And she noticed. She immediately turned around and pinned Eugene's hands, coming out of her pockets.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Eugene had no answer ready that wouldn't make him look bad. He _was_ standing there with her wallet in his hand. So all he could manage was:

"Ah.. Uhmm.. well..?"

"Explain yourself young man. I do not appreciate a thief." Then Sarah – the inn keeper – came up to the two of them.

"What is going on here?" She was probably trying to prevent a scene, because that would definitely be bad for her business. Eugene had never talked with Sarah before, though he was sure she knew about his exploits. After all, he had come here quite a few times already. He had been considering moving on to a different turf, but he found it difficult to let the Benbow Inn go. It was warm and dry and had mildly wealthy clientele. And sure, yeah, he liked the feeling of it as well. It was old and it was still here. You don't see something like that often. And now he might not see it ever again, as soon as Sarah told him to leave and never come back.

"This kid just tried to steal my wallet, and that might just have been the start! These street rats are not to be trusted. You can be sure I won't come here again."

"Now let's not be too hasty! I am sure this boy here feels very bad about what he just did, and that he would want to apologize." Was that directed at him? He didn't feel bad about stealing, he felt bad about being caught in the act! No way out now though. He tried on his most remorseful look – which was not convincing anyone – and looked up at the woman.

"I am very sorry for trying to steal from you miss." He quickly looked down again and thrust his hands out to give her the wallet back. "I won't do it again." Which was true, because he would bet anything he had that she would never be coming back here.

"You better not!" she huffed, and turned on her heel, slamming the door behind her. Sarah also turned on her heel, but she meant to talk to Eugene. He expected that she would want to give him a scolding, so he did not wait and had already entered the kitchen, racing for the door on the opposite side.

"STOP HIM," Sarah yelled, and one of the waiters caught the back of Eugene's coat, hauling him back to the entrance room, where Sarah was already tapping her foot. The perfect image of the disappointed mother. Why was she doing that? She wasn't his mother. No one was. "Now you listen to me, and you listen carefully. I need to have a serious talk with you, because we both know that this was not the first time you stole from my guests. Please follow me." She pulled a curtain to the side, going up the stairs hidden behind it. The waiter was still hovering, so Eugene had no choice but to follow her up the stairs. They went in a room that must be over the dinner hall, because you could hear the people downstairs talking and eating. The room seemed to take up most of the space on this floor. There was an alcove with a tech-window, and another small window up in the rafters. There wasn't a lot of furniture, mainly a square wooden table with two chairs, and one fauteuil in a corner viewing the alcove. "Please have a seat." Eugene chose the chair facing the door through which they had come. He never felt comfortable if he couldn't see at least one way of exit. So far he hadn't really done any talking, mainly trying to take in these new surroundings and trying to adapt to these very different circumstances. Now was the moment to turn the tide.

"Alright, so you know this was not my first time. I can't give back what I have stolen previously, if that's what you're hoping. That's all gone."

"Is that so? And how did that happen then? I last saw you here only a few days ago!" He could make up a lie. But what with the events since his previous visit to the Benbow, and being caught here for the first time, Eugene felt there was no point anyway. Whatever happened now would happen, and it didn't matter whether Sarah knew what was going on or not. It wasn't like it was going to change anything.

"I feed the orphans with it."

"What?" Clearly she hadn't been expecting that.

"I steal whatever I can and use it to buy food, which I divide among the orphans back at the House."

"Oh. Oh, I see. Well, that changes things a bit." What? How did that change anything?

"Huh? How..? How does that change anything?"

"Well you see… Uhm, what's your name? Mine's…"

"Sarah, I know. I've observed you talking with some of the guests. I'm Eugene." First name was enough for now. His last name would only create more questions.

"Right. Well, Eugene, I thought you were either stealing for yourself or for a gang. I didn't expect that people would depend on whether you managed to steal anything. And don't you think you've been the only one observing around here! I know you try to make sure you don't steal from the poorest guests around here. Now, here's the stitch. You won't be surprised that I have been getting a bad name recently. People talk, mainly at the Spaceport. I can't have that Eugene. I'm trying to run a business here and your exploits are interfering with that. I appreciate that you do what you believe is all you can do under circumstances. I appreciate that you try to be decent, once again considering circumstances. Also, I am not going to turn you in." Huh. Now there was a pleasant surprise. It seemed too good to be true, so there must be a catch.

"Yeah? And what do you want from me in return?"

"To stop stealing."

"Done." That was easy enough. He would just go somewhere else, like he had been planning to anyway.

"No, I think you misunderstand Eugene. I want you to stop stealing altogether. You can be so much more than just a petty thief. You care for those children. A lot, if you are willing to put yourself out there at risk of being taken to juvenile jail. I know that any promise you make me will not be worth anything, because I understand you care for the kids back at the House. But Eugene, you're a kid yourself!" Oh, here it goes. The sermon. You're just a kid, a child really. He shouldn't have to go out there and rustle up food. He shouldn't have to defy the law. Well, you know what, Eugene couldn't say it any better.

"I agree! I _am_ just a kid! But you know what, that doesn't matter one bit, does it? Because being a kid is not enough to get food on the table. So yeah, I have to go out there and steal. I have to go out there and make sure the kids back Home can eat something!"

"Good, then we're on the same page! I want you to stop stealing, and instead I will give you food." What was even going on here? This had never happened before. Again, too good to be true, so there must be something else going on.

"What do you mean?"

"Instead of having you on the street, stealing from people, you can come here and pick up any and all leftovers. We will make sure that we keep what can be kept, so you can take it back. I don't want you on the streets, so if you agree not to steal I'll provide you with at least what you would have been able to bring Home otherwise."

"That's it? That's all I need to do? Not steal?"

"Yeah. Yeah, that's about it. If you would agree to it, I'd appreciate it if you could hand guests their coats for the first few days. That way, they will learn _no one is stealing anymore_ in the inn and I can make sure you're not off stealing somewhere else. Because I _am_ very serious about that." How was this happening? There _must_ be a catch!

"Uhmm… This is all a bit overwhelming. Would it be all right if I think about it?"

"Of course! Of course. Please do come back though. I'll promise you some food even if you decide to go on stealing, but I would like to speak with you again before I won't be able to find you."

"Alright, sure. I guess that's fair enough."

Sarah escorted Eugene downstairs and let him out the front door. For a change.

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**Please rate and review, I would really appreciate any and all feedback!**


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